Kim Leggatt: If George Harrison wasn’t your favourite Beatle at the beginning of watching this film, he will be by the end of it

2019-05-28,  autor: kasia  
[...powrót do newsów]

I first read about the documentary "An Accidental Studio" on a Beatles news website. Shortly after, a friend sent me a newspaper featuring an article about the film, mentioning that one of its producers and directors was Kim Leggatt—who happened to live in the same town as I do.

Things took an even more interesting turn when our local cinema, the Capitol, announced a premiere of this George Harrison documentary for Friday, May 17th. (It’s worth noting that our town cinema usually only screens mainstream commercial films). The documentary was scheduled for a very limited four-day run, and the Friday screening was the only one I could attend.

As is my habit, I arrived at the cinema well ahead of time. Right by the entrance, I spotted Kim with some friends posing for a photo next to the film poster. I hesitated for a moment, wondering whether to approach her, but decided it was better not to disturb her. Our paths crossed again... in the restroom. However, as you can imagine, that isn’t exactly the best place to strike up a conversation!

Fortunately, luck was on my side. As I was walking into the cinema hall, Kim was right behind me. I took a chance and asked if she was the film's producer. Pleasantly surprised, she confirmed she was. She asked how I knew what she looked like and why I had come to see the film. I explained that I had recognized her from the newspaper photo and mentioned that my friends and I run a Polish website dedicated to The Beatles, expressing our hope that the documentary would eventually be released in Poland.

To my delight, Kim herself suggested we meet up, and we exchanged phone numbers. To be honest, I didn't quite believe she would actually call. But she did! We eventually met for a chat in a cozy cafe in a town in West Sussex. It was a remarkable encounter with an incredibly humble and lovely person.

How did it start? The idea of making a movie about George Harrison?

Kim: I was looking to make a TV series on famous movie locations and wanted to do one episode on Uncle Monty’s cottage in Withnail and I. It was around 2011 or 2012 at the time. We shot the cottage and the village and then used clips from the film to build the story. I asked HandMade Films if I could use the clips and that’s when they asked if I wanted to meet up.

When I met David Francis, who owns HandMade Films, we got on really well. David asked me if I knew the story of HandMade, I didn’t, I knew it was a famous film company and had made some really important films in the 1980’s but I didn’t know the full history. So David told me. At the end of it he said, half-jokingly, ‘it would make a great documentary.’ So here we are several years later, with what I hope people will think is a great documentary. David likes it, Olivia Harrison likes it, all the people involved in it like it, so I think achieved that.

We were also very lucky that AMC Networks championed this documentary from the very beginning. The person we talked to at AMC was a Monty Python fan and loved The Beatles, so again, we had luck upon luck to make this film. And if you watch the documentary, Bruce Robinson (director of Withnail and I) talks about needing luck to make films. He is correct. Luck, passion and determination.

What kind of story did you want to tell in the movie?

Kim: I wanted to tell the story of George Harrison as a film producer because very few people know this side to him and how he helped so many people achieve their dreams. He was an incredibly generous man, more so than any of the other Beatle’s and he did more with his life than any of the others. I read somewhere (and I agree with this) that George Harrison went the furthest distance spiritually in life than any of the other Beatles. To show a tiny part of that story was a huge privilege and honour.

It was Ray Cooper who told us when we interviewed him, that some people, when they become rich and famous, just keep their hands in their pockets and never help anyone. Whereas George was always putting his hand in his pocket to help people. He believed he had been given great wealth for a reason and if he could share his good fortune, then that was part of what he was meant to do in his lifetime.

As George says in the movie, he loved Monty Python and that was the reason he started the company in the first place – to help his friends because he loved them so much. So it is also a love story to friendship which is a very human story that we can all relate to. I think it makes us love George Harrison even more than we already do. If he wasn’t your favourite Beatle at the beginning of watching this film, he will be by the end of it.

You said that working on this movie has been the best experience you had so far. Why?

Kim: Very simply, I got to tell a wonderful heartfelt story and interview some of my film industry heroes. Everyone working on this project – not just the producers but all the people we interviewed, HandMade Films themselves and AMC Networks - wanted to tell George’s story so much that it became such a special movie to make. The HandMade Films story is incredible and I feel honoured that HandMade allowed us to make the film.

Who was the best person to interview?

Kim:That’s a really tough answer because everyone opened up and gave us so much and it was a pleasure to meet such incredible people who have had amazing careers. Bruce Robinson is a hero of mine so I would say he was the best person – he’s a great raconteur and has so many stories to tell, we could have listened to him all day. Having said that, Terry Gilliam was absolutely magnificent, he’s a whirlwind of energy and fun so it was wonderful to get caught up in that. So basically those two are my ‘best one.’

There are so many movies released thanks to HandMade. Which one is your favourite?

Kim: Well I only met HandMade Films because of Withnail and I and this documentary only happened because of that meeting, so I would say Withnail and I is my favourite. But its difficult because Mona Lisa is also a wonderful film, so is The Lonely Passion of Judith Hearne which Dame Maggie Smith and Bob Hoskins starred in. And Powwow Highway was one of George’s favourite films so naturally its one of mine too.

You used to be a Beatles fan. Who was your favourite Beatle and why?

Kim: I never really had a favourite. I knew some about George Harrison before starting the documentary and then spent 3 years researching his entire life story so that’s when my respect and admiration for him went through the roof. What a maverick, he really blazed a trail and was quite extraordinary.

What is your favourite George Harrison's song?

Kim: My Sweet Lord.

Have you ever seen any Beatle live?

Kim: No I haven’t.

Which movie made by HandMade is reflecting the spirit and atmosphere of George’s company?

Kim: Life of Brian because George only set the company up to make this film because he loved Monty Python and wanted to help them when the money fell out to make it. If he hadn’t of loved them and wanted to see the film made, the company would not exist.

In the movie we can see a lot of Michael Palin, Terry Gilliam and Eric Idle but not John Cleese, why?

Kim: We did try and get John for an interview but it didn’t happen. He is not as big a part of the story as Mike, Terry and Eric so in the end it did not affect the overall story we were telling. But it would have been nice to have interviewed John Cleese – I’m going to try and interview him for my next project.

Have you spoken to Olivia Harrison about the movie?

Kim: We were in email contact with her from the very beginning and we know she likes the finished film, she even promoted it for us on the Harrison social media platforms.

What is your next project?

Kim: My next feature documentary is the story of 1970’s comedy trio THE GOODIES – Tim Brooke Taylor, Graeme Garden and Bill Oddie. They have a fantastic story which starts in the sixties and goes right up to today. Together and separately they are all very clever and exceptionally talented men with an extraordinarily unique story that spans 60 years. The documentary will be a real treat for fans around the world as well as young and old audiences in general. If anyone wants to know more about this film, please get in touch!

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2019-05-28: Kim Leggatt w rozmowie z nami wyjaśniła dlaczego George Harrison jest najfajniejszym Beatlesem,
2019-05-28: Kim Leggatt: If George Harrison wasn’t your favourite Beatle at the beginning of watching this film, he will be by the end of it,
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